Your urologist Des Moines Dr. Fawad Zafar reports that a new hormone therapy drug for men suffering from advanced prostate cancer may extend their survival and delay progression of the disease.
The study found that a drug called enzalutamide increased survival by almost 30 percent and delayed the progression of the disease by just over 80 percent in men who hadn’t undergone chemotherapy.
According to your urologist Des Moines, this is a treatment with an excellent safety profile that can potentially help men maintain a good quality of life and extend their survival.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug in 2012 for use in men with cases of advanced prostate cancer who had undergone chemotherapy. The drug is classified as a type of hormone therapy called an androgen (male hormone) receptor blocker.
The current study involved over 1,600 men with prostate cancer that had spread to other parts of their bodies and had progressed despite treatment with other types of hormone therapy. Your urologist Des Moines advises that none of the men had undergone chemotherapy, but they had been treated with surgery and radiation therapy.
Half of the participants were appointed to receive enzalutamide and the other half were given a placebo. The study was halted early because it was clear that enzalutamide offered a distinct benefit over the placebo, so the drug was offered to all of the participants in the study.
The average time to disease progression in placebo was approximately four months, but for those taking the drug, a median time to disease progression wasn’t been reached in spite of 20 months of follow-up.
Your urologist Des Moines reports that the drug is being administered relatively early in the onset of prostate cancer, and patients can receive multiple treatments following the procedure. Most of the volunteers involved in the study underwent chemotherapy at a later time.
The drug is an oral medication, and it was well endured during the study. Surgery generally isn’t an option for this type of cancer because it’s difficult to remove all of the cancer cells.
If you’re interested in getting more information regarding this drug or the study, call your urologist Des Moines Dr. Fawad Zafar’s office to schedule an appointment.